A scout from the Kelvan Empire of the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy, Rojan seeks a new home for his imperiled civilization. The Kelvan ship that was used in the crossing was destroyed at the galactic barrier, requiring Rojan to take the Enterprise in which the Kelvans subdue the crew by freezing them the same way they did the landing party and take over the starship. At first Kirk says there's little point in taking it as even at maximum warp, it would take Enterprise thousands of years to reach Andromeda. Rojan explains that Enterprise will be modified with Kelvan technology which will shorten the journey to only 300 years, a concept which fascinates Spock, as an intergalactic journey requiring only three centuries is a leap far beyond anything they have accomplished. The Kelvans explain that their ship was a multi-generation starship and that they were born in the intergalactic void and they shall die there. Rojan says the mission will be completed by a commander who is his descendant. These descendants could report on the suitability of the Milky Way Galaxy for Kelvan conquest and occupation. Kirk then says that there's no reason to do all of this by force and he proposes to take the Kelvan problem to the Federation. He tells Rojan that expeditions have cataloged hundreds of uninhabited planets that are suitable for colonization. Rojan replies that they do not colonize, but conquer and rule.

The landing party is imprisoned in a nearby cave, guarded by Kelinda, while other Kelvans quickly take control of the Enterprise. Using his mind meld ability to fool the guard, Spock's attempt is thwarted before establishing an effective link, but Kelinda is distracted enough to get knocked unconscious by Kirk. The party's freedom lasts only a moment before Rojan and Hanar recapture them by freezing Kirk.

Rojan kills Thompson

In a display of power, Rojan orders Shea, by Hanar, and Thompson, by Kelinda, taken aside declaring as punishment for what Kirk has done that he will watch them die. Hanar uses his belt device for a new purpose, instantly reducing Shea and Thompson into dehydrated porous cuboctahedron solids, the size of a human fist, composed of their base minerals which represents the "distilled" essences of their being. Hanar picks up both solids and Rojan orders him to bring them to him where he is standing next to Kirk. Rojan points out that the solids represent "the flesh and brain, ... and even what ..." Humans "... call personality" of Shea and Thompson. Rojan crushes and crumbles one solid, declaring Thompson dead. Rojan says the other one though can be restored and throws the other one over to where Hanar had earlier picked up both. Hanar touches his belt device, again, revealing that Lieutenant Shea is the one that is reconstituted. Thompson on the other hand is not so fortunate and a dispirited Kirk bends down to scoop up and shift through his hands the white powdery substance that is all that remains of her.

Returned to confinement, Spock reports on what little he learned from his interrupted mind meld. He describes the Kelvans' native appearance as something quite far from the local humanoid norm, confirming the aliens expressed unease in their new humanoid 'shells'.

The five Kelvans oversee the entire crew and Enterprise upgrades. Once underway, Kirk is still permitted to take the captain's chair with Rojan nearby and Kelvan female Drea taking the helm. Accelerating to warp 11, the galactic barrier is now a mere hour away.

Spock and Scotty learn that an attempt to disable the Kelvan belt devices at their source is hopeless. They prepare another option for Kirk, a self-destruct trigger to use at the Barrier. The Barrier looms and tension flares on the bridge.

Spock and Scott are anxious for Kirk to order the destruct trigger, but the Captain hesitates, finally ordering them to disable the trigger. At Barrier contact, Enterprise shudders and engines strain, but she breaks forward into a starless void lit only by a distant Andromeda.

The Andromeda Galaxy

With too many to guard and too many to feed, Rojan declares the majority of the Enterprise crew non-essential, with the Kelvans neutralizing Uhura, Chekov, Leslie, Hadley and reducing them into inert solids. As necessary specialists, Kirk and his three senior officers are allowed to remain animate with free run of the ship.

Kirk and officers are discussing their predicament over a meal in the mess when the Kelvan Tomar criticizes the the humans' consumption of "bulk" material for sustenance in favor of his more efficient Kelvan nutritional pills. Dr. McCoy tells Tomar "don't knock it 'til you try it" and piques Tomar's interest in the bulky foods humanoids prefer. The officers notice the inordinate pleasure the Kelvan takes in a typical meal from the food synthesizer, and begin to speculate on their species' inexperience with their radically different new humanoid bodies and sensory perceptions. Inspired, the four officers split up, each targeting a Kelvan and introducing them to a different form of sensory overload.

Scotty weighs in first, luring Tomar into a drinking tour of the Federation. In sickbay, McCoy suggests that Hanar may be malnourished, and starts pumping him with stimulants, telling him they're vitamin supplements.

Before the others can reach their marks, Scotty and Tomar manage to polish off a bottle of Saurian brandy.

Kirk decides to focus his energies on Kelinda, the Kelvan who has taken the form of an exotically attractive, young, blonde female. Kirk apologizes for having struck her in their escape attempt on the planet and kisses on her neck where he had struck her, then he moves to her lips. Kelinda admonishes Kirk at first, knowing this must be a seduction but she admits she's not opposed to the action. Kirk plays hard to get and Kelinda rewards him by pulling him in for more. Rojan interrupts, puzzled, and Kirk hurries away. Kelinda explains the Human "apology" ritual, demonstrating it on a nonplussed Rojan.

Scotty and Tomar finish their second bottle.

Over a game of three-dimensional chess with Spock, Rojan expresses his confusion about the "apology." Spock blithely suggests Kirk and Kelinda's motivations might have been otherwise, or perhaps Rojan was just experiencing jealousy. Rojan denies the emotion, but Spock is able to needle him into visible aggravation.

Rojan confronts Kelinda, forbidding her to see Kirk again. Kelinda insists she'll do as she pleases, and a brief argument in which both of them clearly display anger follows. The argument ends with Rojan roughly grabbing her arms, only to realize that he is experiencing emotions.

The officers meet for a progress report, noting the absence of Scotty. Kelinda interrupts, her eyes only for the Captain, asking for another "apology." Spock goes to the bridge, glibly reporting on the forbidden meeting, bluntly suggesting that Rojan has lost control.

Victorious on the battlefield, Mr. Scott watches the drunken Tomar collapse under the table and fondly kisses his expended weapon of last resort. Stealing Tomar's belt device, he staggers away to report, but collapses into a drunken stupor in the doorway of his cabin before he could take the confiscated device to the captain.

Rojan, incensed, storms in on Kelinda and Kirk, deep in the midst of the "apology." Rojan repeats his orders, but Kirk holds her and claims Kelinda as his own. Enraged, Rojan pulls the two apart. Not yet satisfied with Rojan's anger, Kirk slaps the Kelvan twice, inciting Rojan to lunge in fury. As they fight, Kirk taunts Rojan, saying he's not acting Kelvan anymore, but more Human. Head-locked by Kirk, Rojan is forced to consider how much he has changed in a short time and how unrecognizable his descendants would be when they eventually arrive "home" in three centuries.

Rojan relents when Kirk reminds him that the core of his mission was to find a new home for his people. Kirk says they can still take the problem to the Federation and that they can help them find a new world for them to live on. When Rojan asks if the Federation would really welcome invaders, Kirk says that they wouldn't, but they would accept friends. Spock says that this is a chance for Rojan to make a destiny of their own and that he is only following an order given three hundred years previous. Rojan finally agrees that perhaps it can be done. Spock says that a robot ship could be sent to Kelva with the Federation proposal. In the meantime, Rojan's crew could experience life as humanoids on a vibrant world, Rojan considers a life with these new physical sensations, and asks Kelinda if she'll stay with him, receiving her enthusiastic apology. Rojan calls the bridge and restores Kirk's command to him. Kirk then orders Enterprise turned around and states that they are all going home.

Captain's log, stardate 4657.5. Work is proceeding on the Enterprise as my crew is forced to make the required changes in the ship for intergalactic travel. Meanwhile, I can't forget the picture of Yeoman Thompson, crushed to a handful of dust.

Captain's log, stardate 4658.9. With the Enterprise under control of the Kelvans, we are approaching the energy barrier at the edge of our galaxy. Spock and Scotty have devised a suicide plan to stop the Kelvans. They have rigged the ship to explode on my signal.

"We do not colonize. We conquer. We rule. There's no other way for us."

- Rojan, explaining the Kelvan way of life to Kirk

"As a leader you realize the importance of discipline. I need you and these other specialists, ..." (motions toward where Spock and McCoy are standing) (referencing Shea and Thompson) "... but these two are unnecessary."

- Rojan explaining to Kirk why he is punishing him after the attempt to escape

"I think we're somewhat alike, Captain. Each of us cares less about our own safety than for the lives of our command. We feel pain when others suffer for our mistakes. Your punishment shall be to watch them die. Hanar, proceed!"

- Rojan explaining further to Kirk why he is about to do to Shea and Thompson

"Do you not agree that this is a better thing for them than exploding the ship as your engineer had thought to do? We detected it, of course. Tomar has devised a mechanism to prevent any further tampering. Please accept your situation, Captain. It will make things much less painful."

- Rojan to Kirk, after Kirk has just discovered in a corridor eight inert solids

"This business of love. You have devoted much literature to it. Why do you build such a mystique around a simple biological function?"

The title is part of a quotation from Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene 2. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Kirk recites it to Kelinda. It is often used to convey the idea that although you can change the name of something, its nature will remain the same. In this case, the Kelvans become human. In doing so, they start behaving as Humans do.

The basis of this episode can be found in Gene Roddenberry's first ever produced science fiction script, "The Secret Weapon of 117" for Chevron Hall of Stars in 1956. The episode featured a pair of aliens (the male played by Ricardo Montalban) who disguise themselves as humans to study Earth people and get overwhelmed by the sensations and experiences of their new host bodies, and decide to remain human. (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One)

In The Star Trek Interview Book, writer Jerome Bixby told Allan Asherman that he originally wrote the episode in a rather more serious vein, but that in depicting the potential end of the human race at the hands of the Kelvans, he failed to heed producer Gene Roddenberry's warning to avoid getting wrapped up in "the immensity of it all." As a result, D.C. Fontana rewrote the script as a more "lightweight" episode.

According to David Gerrold, the writers could not figure out how the Kelvans could eliminate the crew. While in Roddenberry's office, someone spotted a Mexican onyx dodecahedron on his desk and suggested that they be transformed into objects of that shape. Dorothy Fontana describes the scene related by Gerrold on the Special Features on Season 2 DVD. She indicates that she had given the dodecahedron to Roddenberry, and that he played with it while they described their problem and then Roddenberry made the suggestion that they be transformed into objects of that shape.

This was the only episode lensed by cinematographer Keith Smith, replacing Jerry Finnerman, who was apparently unavailable for an unknown reason. Smith was the director of photography on Mission: Impossible, filmed next door to Star Trek at Desilu Studios at the time.

The drinking scene between Scotty and Tomar is echoed in TNG: "Relics". Not knowing what the drink is, Data sniffs the bottle and repeats Scotty's line that it is "green." Picard later informs Scotty that it was Aldebaran whiskey. Scotty's slurred description of the bottle he shows to Tomar suggests he might have known the drink's name, only to forget it later as the possible result of binge drinking. A similar, if not identical, green drink was also seen in ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II", aboard the Constitution-classUSS Defiant.

Kirk mentions that an intergalactic voyage by a 23rd century starship would take "thousands of years" to reach the Andromeda Galaxy. For the Kelvans, intergalactic travel is a three-century journey. In the 24th century, as seen in TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before", Federation technology has apparently matched the Kelvans, perhaps due to this encounter, when it is discussed that a return trip to the Milky Way from the Triangulum Galaxy would take three hundred years at maximum warp.

Direct references to two previous episodes were made. After Rojan mentions the galactic barrier, Kirk says, "We've been there." (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before") Even Spock repeats his analysis of the barrier word for word: "Density negative. Radiation negative. Energy negative." When the landing party is detained in a cave, Kirk recalls their imprisonment on Eminiar VII and Spock's use of a mind-meld to fool the guards. (TOS: "A Taste of Armageddon")

In "Charlie X", Kirk tells Charles Evans, "There's no right way to hit a woman." However, in this episode and in "The Gamesters of Triskelion", Kirk strikes a woman. On Kelinda, he uses a karate chop to the neck.

Scotty's quarters are seen only in this episode. Decorations include a tartan kilt, bagpipes, medieval armor, and a wall plaque. Although the plaque apparently depicts stylized drafting tools, they also resemble part of a three-dimensional chess set and the primary hull of a Klingon battle cruiser.

The rotating biobed normally situated in sickbay was removed to allow McCoy and Tomar to roll the gurney carrying Spock to the biofunction monitor.

Crewman Thompson's death and Julie Cobb's portrayal of that character is referenced in the cooking show Good Eats hosted by Alton Brown. The cooking show makes occasional references to Star Trek, especially The Original Series.[1]

The 1985 Saturday Night Live Star Trek Convention sketch has the convention host (played by Phil Hartman) erroneously introducing Julie Cobb (played in that skit by Victoria Jackson) by saying that she was in the episode "Errand of Mercy".

The close-up of Lt. Shea after he is restored is recycled from a previous shot of him just before he was reduced to cubic form.

The remastered version of this episode premiered in syndication on the weekend of 8 March 2008. It featured new effects shots of the Kelvan outpost from space, an expanded matte painting of the planet's terrain as the landing party beams down, a swirling Andromeda Galaxy, and the galactic barrier's new look.